Veeam Kasten Disaster Recovery

Overview

Kasten automates scheduled and on-demand disaster recovery for Kubernetes applications. It maintains multiple restore-ready backups for multi-component applications and can import and restore changes to a cluster. Snapshot replication, failover orchestration and dependency mapping address recovery beyond simply retaining copies of data.

Protection spans Kubernetes resources, Deployments, StatefulSets, OpenShift DeploymentConfigs, standalone Pods, Helm v3 releases, persistent volumes and claims, KubeVirt virtual machines, and relational and NoSQL databases. That range makes Kasten a better fit for application environments with state and dependencies to recover together than for teams seeking general-purpose endpoint or virtual-machine backup.

Key features

Protection and security

Immutable recovery points, end-to-end encryption, granular RBAC, policy-driven access controls and audit logging support controlled recovery operations. Compliance-ready reporting and SIEM integration can fit into broader security processes. These controls are relevant for enterprise teams, though they do not remove the need to check whether a specific workload and recovery design fits the organization’s requirements.

Deployment and operations

Kasten runs in its own namespace on a Kubernetes cluster. Teams can install it with Helm or marketplace integrations, including offline installation for air-gapped and private networks. A GUI, CLI and cloud-native API with role-based access give operators more than one way to manage protection.

Storage support covers file, block and object storage through CSI and direct vendor integrations. Kasten also integrates with Veeam Backup & Replication and Veeam Vault, but those integrations require separate licenses. It protects virtual machines in or alongside Kubernetes; file-level recovery for KubeVirt VMs is available through Veeam Data Platform integration.

Pricing

The pricing model is freemium, with custom pricing for subscription plans.

• Veeam Kasten Free: Free, for up to 5 nodes across sandbox, infrastructure or any cloud. This is suitable for small environments or initial evaluation, but the node cap limits its reach in larger clusters.
• Enterprise Trial: Free, billed 60 days, for up to 500 nodes in sandbox and non-production clusters. The higher cap supports broader evaluation, but the non-production restriction means it cannot validate protection in production.
• Veeam Kasten for Modern Virtualization: custom pricing; subscription-based for OpenShift Virtualization Engine nodes, with unlimited nodes, one-, three- or five-year terms and 24.7.365 support. This is the targeted option for that virtualization environment.
• Veeam Kasten Enterprise: custom pricing; subscription-based for an entire Kubernetes environment, all nodes, with unlimited nodes, one-, three- or five-year terms and 24.7.365 support. It fits broader enterprise deployments where the free cap is insufficient.

Platforms

Kasten supports API, Linux, self-hosted and web environments. Supported Kubernetes distributions include Amazon EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, Red Hat OpenShift, SUSE Rancher and Nutanix Kubernetes Platform. Its application integrations include Amazon RDS, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, K8ssandra, Kanister, EDB, Cassandra, SQL Server, MySQL, Elasticsearch, Kafka and KubeVirt.

Who it's for

Kasten is aimed at enterprise operations teams that need secure backup, restore, disaster recovery and mobility for Kubernetes applications. It is a strong candidate where workloads span supported distributions, storage types or database integrations, and where operators need API and CLI access as well as a GUI. Teams protecting environments larger than five nodes should assess a subscription rather than assume the free plan will scale with them.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Recovery workflows cover dependencies and failover, not just backup retention, helping teams address multi-component applications.
• Pro: Broad Kubernetes distribution, workload and storage support can accommodate varied application stacks.
• Pro: Offline installation and multiple management interfaces suit private-network and air-gapped operations.
• Con: The free plan stops at five nodes, so it is not a full-scale option for larger environments.
• Con: The 60-day trial is limited to sandbox and non-production clusters, leaving production evaluation outside its terms.
• Con: Veeam Backup & Replication and Veeam Vault integrations require separate licenses.

Alternatives

Teams comparing recovery products can browse Cloud Disaster Recovery Software.

• Trilio Site Recovery is an alternative with a Technology Preview / Early Adopter Program available through Trilio; its pricing is custom.
• Cohesity SiteContinuity is an alternative for teams considering customer-managed deployments on VMware Standard or above, with VMware VM and Cohesity NAS Views.
• Veeam Agent for Mac is a separate Veeam option for macOS backup; its free edition is limited to one backup job and excludes direct backup to object storage.
• Veeam Recovery Orchestrator is another Veeam product to consider for recovery orchestration.
• Datto Endpoint Backup is an alternative for macOS and Windows endpoint backup, with customized pricing.
• Infrascale Backup and Disaster Recovery is an alternative with aggregated component subscriptions in 1 TB storage increments and a consistent monthly price.
• Acronis Cyber Disaster Recovery Cloud is an alternative to consider for its pay-as-you-go disaster recovery cloud storage and compute model.

Verdict

Choose Veeam Kasten when Kubernetes is the center of the recovery plan and you need coordinated application recovery across distributions, storage and workload types. Its deployment flexibility and recovery controls are compelling for enterprise operations, but the free tier is small, the trial excludes production, and Veeam integrations add separate license costs. Teams whose needs are not Kubernetes-focused should look elsewhere.